Rest should help Sheffield Eagles, ahead of Featherstone Rovers game

Matt Young

Published:12:37Thursday 27 April 2017

Sheffield Eagles director Mark Aston says the break in fixtures has been an advantage despite their recent winning run.

With the Challenge Cup interfering with their impressive string of results, most would have been disappointed that the Eagles’ winning streak wasn’t allowed to continue. With four wins from their last five games, Aston’s side have pushed themselves into a mid-table position as they get set for Sunday’s showdown with Featherstone Rovers.

And Aston has welcomed the break as an opportunity to freshen up his squad. “We put a lot into the games over Easter, so the break has been good for the boys” he said. “To have six days away has helped. In one sense you want to keep playing because we have got that momentum, and we are playing well, but I do think that it was a good time to freshen them up. I asked them to empty the tank for the Monday game against Dewsbury, and they did, we were outstanding. They backed up the Good Friday performance against Rochdale, and I was delighted for the players because they have had a bit of stick this year.”

Prior to the Easter period, the Eagles chief spoke about the double-header potentially defining their season.

The back-to-back victories have certainly taken the club away from the mire at the foot of the table, but Aston is not content with his side’s recent progress insisting they need to use the recent break to help them kick on again.

“We have talked about the upheaval of people coming in and going out, but we have got that consistency into them now and that has given them a lot of confidence,” he added.

“We are taking the games week-by-week. We said that the Easter period would probably define our season, and we have come through that. Hopefully that will have given us the boost needed to kick on, but we are not kidding ourselves, we are still looking to improve.”